Recap: South Carolina coordinator availability

South Carolina coordinators Marcus Satterfield, Clayton White and Pete Lembo all met with the media Tuesday. Here’s a recap of what they said previewing the Florida game.

Marcus Satterfield

–Asked about breaking down film and balance between sustaining drives vs. big plays, said he’ll never turn down big plays. Having too many big plays is a good problem to have. Have to have sustained drives, though, when those big plays aren’t there.

Subscribe until the 2023 football season for only $10!

–Said he wish it was easy to hit the reset button and have a similar offensive performance this week. Said it was good to run those plays they had in last week. Need to continue to get playmakers the ball.

–Said Bell is an exceptional playmaker with the ball in his hands. Jokes Bell looks like a 1980s SEC running back.

–Very confident in this running back staff. Proud of the coaching staff of game planning and getting guys on the perimeter and creating some different things in the run game with Lloyd banged up.

–South Carolina’s best players have to go out and make plays when the ball is in the air. Said they did that Saturday night.

–In terms of Rattler’s performance, said the last throw was a “real grown up play in the red zone.” That was a tight zone concept he had to progress through and he did that. To be able to go down there, call that and execute was a “big moment for us.”

–A lot of hard work and meeting time with Bell trying to balance playing tight end and running back. He’s getting extra work weekly and will take a lot of work.

–Florida has big, lengthy athletes. Said they have some disruptive players up front that can cause issues. Said they’re “all really good players.” They have to play and execute at a high level to be able to move the ball and score points.

–Have to be careful trying to install something during game plan that might have worked on film. Said unless it fits with what South Carolina does in its base game plan then they’ll work it. If it fits, they’ll try and work it and install it. He said they can’t go “off the rails” trying to do something out of character like transition to a “run and shoot” like a Mike Leach.

Win USC-Tennessee tickets from 107.5 The Game and Gamecock Central

Clayton White

–Asked about bending and not breaking, said they “never want to bend.” Said there are times teams are going to move the ball but goal is to limit points.

–In terms of biggest issue in the run game, mentions 12 or 13 missed tackles against Vandy. Said Missouri and Vanderbilt both attacked the edge and if a defensive back misses a tackle then it typically leads to an explosive run. Linebackers have to be better fitting runs.

–Philosophy is “yards don’t equal points.” Said he’s learned coaching in the SEC to celebrate the wins.

–Learned earlier in the season dealing with a banged up secondary to not switch up positions in game week. Tried to do that when the DB group had injury issues.

–Thinks he’s proud of how the defense finished the game. OD Fortune had a pick and forced fumble.

–Right now, they’re in a spot where you can try to throw teams off but “you do what you do.” Can secure things better or potentially disguise things better. Doesn’t think there’s a specific player that is a weak link. As a coordinator, his job is to disguise.

–Anthony Richardson is one of the best athletes they’ve seen on tape this year. Can’t hide some of his traits. When he sees a player improve and mature, he respects that. He’s a challenge to deal with.

–Mixing and matching DBs makes it a little harder to disguise coverage. Said you can try to teach keys about how coverage shifts based on movement then guys could get caught out of position. Said it does get harder with younger guys in the secondary.

Win this print! Williams-Brice Stadium, South Carolina State Fair

–Asked about the potential of the flu running through the DB room, jokes he feels good. He’s been washing his hands.

Pete Lembo

–Very, very excited about the opportunity this week to go play a meaningful SEC game in a hostile environment. Got a text from a former assistant where 10 years ago they beat a ranked Toledo team on Election Night. He had “about eight layers of clothing on.” Said coaching big games in November is a big opportunity.

Subscribe (for free) to the Gamecock Central YouTube page!

–Saturday is a “huge challenge” for the team, especially on special teams. UF has “impressive-looking athletes.” You see it on film. Have good athletes and have talented specialists. That goes back to watching Napier’s time at Louisiana. His first year at Lehigh, he coached against Billy Napier’s Furman team with him at QB. The two have spoken “off and on” since. Has a lot of respect for Napier.

–Said having bumps and bruises presents a challenge internally getting ready for a home stretch. Having guys nicked up and having to move up the depth chart, it affects the special teams. Have to then be selective on who you use on special teams if that guy is having to play more snaps on offense or defense. Constantly working on developing guys during a game week. Could have some new faces on special teams.

–Had some good moments on special teams but have times where they’re inconsistent. Times when he feels they’re not playing with a good feel for the game. Have to keep striving for more consistent play and demanding it as coaches. Have to walk the line between knowing where they are in the process but striving for excellence.

–In terms of Kai Kroeger with the rest of the guys, they’re on board with what they’re doing and they’re at a point where they look forward to all the new wrinkles they can put on the special teams. Don’t understand the timing on things. Think they’re excited about things. Has great confidence in Kroeger and Hemingway to go make plays.

–Fronts and looks dictate some of when he calls fakes but they deal with some analytics and a lot rides on feel. Said Beamer’s done well in growing as a head coach. Said they talk a lot throughout the week. Mentions he talks some with Clayton White and Satterfield to communicate what the plan might be.

–Mentions South Carolina trains up just about everybody they need to in terms of fake. They’re always looking for opportunities. If it presents itself, can they take advantage of it at the right time? Said he does have an offensive background so always looking at the big picture on how to attack a certain defense, certain front and what can complement that. Special teams, it’s offense and defense with more time and space. There’s a bigger field to utilize and there are no “second and third downs for us.” Sometimes guys wonder why he’s so demanding, and it’s because you don’t get that play call back and it can lead to big momentum shifts.

–There’s data on getting punts blocked and win percentage. Not sure if there’s numbers to back up fake field goals/punts to back up win percentages. Said a lot of times they have a hunch or instinct or intuition and try to back some of that up with numbers.

–Most of the great specialists he’s been around have been regular guys who are confident in their abilities. Kai Kroeger fits in that mold. He’s even keeled about everything. Lembo mentions he can run hot in practice at times and Kroeger doesn’t blink. That trickles down to the rest of the specialist group.

–Asked if he thinks they’re in the heads of opponents and take away prep time in practice to focus on special teams. Said he can’t answer that for other teams but that’s the goal. Mentions the goal is to create sleepless nights and make coaches think about how they plan practice. If they’re able to cause concern and consternation before the game even starts that’s a victory.

–Asked on freshmen who could impact things more late, mentions Stone Blanton. He’s played some linebacker, been on the depth chart on special teams but hasn’t played much. He’s mentally sharp and instinctive and someone he’s trying to gently nudge along. Bryan Thomas is another freshman who’s played more. Played some special teams and making progress as well. Trying to give every guy a role, whether old guys or young.

Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!